Comment by functionmouse

4 hours ago

for most people this is like saying "If you don't like being oppressed, just move to Antarctica!"

Maybe more like “Learn how to replace an AC filter by yourself instead of calling an AC repair company”

I just installed PopOS on a laptop recently, and… it just worked. There’s an app store for noobs that I think installs flatpaks. GPU drivers just work. Whole disk encryption. Everything just works.

I don’t see what else my grandma that just uses Facebook would need. Maybe automatic updates?

  • No. Changing one's primary operating system takes time, dedication, and is a lifestyle change, similar to moving somewhere remote. Changing ones AC filter is none of those things.

    If you and your grandma only rely on the computer for its web browser, then good for you. You have flexibility that is not afforded to most people. But that's not how a person's phone works; phones dig a lot deeper into one's lifestyle, intentionally so. The walled garden was constructed to keep outsiders out, but now it seems the primary purpose is keeping those inside hostage.

    • My mother-in-law recently became fed up with Windows and asked me to install Linux for her. I gave her Debian with a Mate desktop.

      She loves it. Zero problems. It's been a week and she's using it just fine. No lifestyle upheaval.

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    • Nobody in my life even notices when they change their 'primary operating system.' They buy a phone based on what looks cool at the time, sometimes it's android, sometimes it's iphone. They move freely between chromebooks, windows, and mac os, because everything is online anyway. It's only 'experts' who have trouble with this.

      5 replies →

    • If a 15 years old can do so (me) then other people can do so as well. I did not feel uncomfortable at all when i first installed ElementaryOS and then moved to Fedora. everything just works, i never ever had to worry about drivers or stuff like that

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  • I run Linux across a dozen thin clients and a server class desktop in my home lab. It's rock solid for home assistant, proxmox, routing, etc etc. Set it (hours and hours of work) and forget it exists.

    I couldln't imagine having the time to set it up as a daily driver that handles my daily workflows, hardware needs, etc. Terminal in OS X is a close enough approximation out of the box and goes beyond it in DX (IMO) with very little additional setup.

    I know this will be an unpopular opinion.

    • I'mm exactly the same. Fluent in Linux, but you'll pry my MacBook out of my cold dead hands.

  • PopOS completely shit the bed for me on a major version upgrade, left the system is a completely inconsistent state. Luckily I was only trying it out on one (multi-boot) laptop and could easily switch, but it's put me off Pop OS.

> If you don't like being oppressed, just move to Antarctica

No - moving to far away areas is not the right analogy. After all you need to have use cases where those huge companies do not control your business. So the alternative is to avoid becoming dependent on them; or cut off the dependency when possible.